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Indian Culture: Little Tradition and Great Tradition

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The whole of Indian culture can be studied with the help of these two concepts ‘Little tradition’ and “Great tradition”. These two concepts are based on the idea that the civilization and social organisation have a tradition.

Schematic Presentation of Constituents of Tradition:

(i) Through orthogenetic evolution.

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(ii) Through hetereogenetic contacts.

Orthogenetic evolution indicates changes in those areas where internal or indigenous factors are responsible for such changes. On the other hand hetereogenetic contacts indicate those changes which occur due to external contact or interference of outside civilization. There are two levels where the social structure of these civilizations operate, i.e., at the level of folks or peasants and at the level of elites or ‘reflective few’.

The folks or the peasants are included under little tradition and Great tradition includes the elite group or ‘reflective few’. However, both the types of traditions are inter-linked and constantly interact with each other. The interaction between these two traditions causes all sorts of changes and growth in cultural structure of traditions.

Diagrammatic Presentation of Operation of Social Structure in Different Levels:

It may be assumed that all civilizations start from a primary or orthogenetic level of cultural organisations. As time passes they are diversified through two processes that are, internal growth and external contact. But more important is cultural contact with outside or other cultures.

All these operate at two levels:

(a) At the level of folk (rural) society, which is known as ‘Little tradition’.

(b) At the level of elite or ‘reflective few’ which is known as ‘Great tradition’.

McKim Marriot and Milton Singer have conducted some of the studies following this model. McKim Marriot says that in the structure of the village culture and its social organisation elements of both the little tradition and Great tradition are found. He has conducted his study at Kishan Garhi village in Northern India. He found that there is constant interaction between Little tradition and Great tradition. Little tradition consists of local customs, rites, rituals, dialects and Great tradition contains legitimate form of all these things.

McKim Marriot found that when little tradition and Great tradition interact with each other two types of movements are observed—upward and downward. When the elements of little tradition move upward, Marriot calls it as ‘Universalization’ and when some elements of Great tradition move downward it is called as ‘Parochialisation’.

Schematic Presentation of Results of Interaction between Little Tradition and Great Tradition:

Milton Singer has given some of the conclusions in relation to little tradition and Great tradition:

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(a) This type of interaction is reflected in different areas like village community, caste system etc.

(b) It creates a common cultural consciousness among Indians.

(c) The common cultural consciousness has been formed by certain processes and factors such as sacred books, rituals etc.

(d) Interaction between Little tradition and Great tradition helps in cultural continuity in the face of modernisation, westernization etc.

Little tradition and Great tradition interacts with each other and also these two are interdependent in India. The concepts of universalization and parochialisation also describe the process of cultural change implied by Sanskritisation, specially universalisation comes very close to the concept. Some of the social scientists feel that Indian society or culture could not be described fully with the help of little tradition and Great tradition. For, Indian tradition is too complex to analyze by taking few variables.